The Dogs of Toronto Animal Services South

Sunday I went out to TAS West along with another volunteer, Rachael, to meet Malamute Nate and Malamute/Husky(?) Sara and spend some time with them, take some videos and photos of them. They've been at TAS West since November when they were found tied to a tree in a park and left abandoned there. TAS-W is hoping to adopt the two of them out together as they are a bonded pair.

Nate

Sara

Rachael can tell you the rest.

Sarah and Nate: Sounds like a romantic comedy but these bonded Malamutes are way more entertaining than Katherine Heigl and Mcdream-what's-his-face. If only their future was as predictable as a rom-com. These two beauties have been at TAS West since mid-November now. As a couple, they're having some difficulty finding a home for two.

I grab Sara and Nate from their cages and head out for a walk and for some photos. A few love nips and some serious tail wagging later, we get to the door. I open it to a flurry of snow and slush; these two couldn't be happier. I feel their relief as they give way to each other. Tumbling and toppling over one another they make me envious that I will never experience the delirious passion for snow a Malamute feels. It's oddly encouraging as I battle the flu. Their excitement is infectious and I temporarily forget the growing numbness of my limbs - a feat considering I spend the winter in double jogging pants (yes, that is exactly what it sounds like). Joy is a Malamute and their best friend wrestling and kissing in the blustery heights of January. These gentle giants could make a winter lover out of even the grouchiest seasonal hermit.

Nate's cage presentation is pretty excellent:

So is Sara's although as soon as she sees my camera, she's fascinated/not too sure about it. BTW, never stick your face into an unknown dog's face unless you're an expert at getting your face licked like Rachael:

Bonded pair:

Interacting with Sara:

Interacting with Nate:

Walking both Nate and Sara. Yes, when they want to pull, they pull but for the most part, they're pretty good considering their size. Just a little training will go a long way with these guys.

More walking:

The best way to check on the adoption status of Nate and Sara (and other dogs and cats and other small domestic animals) is to visit Toronto Animal Services adoption website or call (416) 338-6271 for the Toronto Animal Services West shelter. If they are no longer on the TAS adoption website, it's probably because they've been adopted already.

5 Comments to “Nate and Sara - Malamutes”

Wow, the fur on her collar almost exactly matches the fur on the dogs. It's great that she's helping these dogs out but so sad that she can't see that the animals used to make that coat deserve a happy life just as much as Nate and Sara do.

Nate and Sara are so beautiful, with their smiling faces. I hope they find a wonderful forever home together. After suffering being abandoned once it would be too much to bear if the lost each other. I hope TAS works hard to keep them together!

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------